Dynetics reporting “outstanding” progress on F-1B rocket engine

Back in April, we covered the efforts of Huntsville-based Dynetics to design a new, monstrous, liquid-fueled engine for NASA's Advanced Booster Competition. The engine is a new high-thrust, kerosene/liquid oxygen design based on the F-1 engine that powered the Apollo-Saturn V launch vehicle in the 1960s, and getting up to speed on building a new kerosene/liquid oxygen engine has relied on some creative and exciting rocket archaeology by NASA.

The Advanced Booster Competition's goal is to design the two strap-on boosters that will attach to NASA's upcoming Space Launch System heavy lift rocket. There are several competitors in the contest; the popular front-runner is Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster manufacturer ATK, with its solid fueled Dark Knight booster. However, Dynetics (with their Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne partners) hopes to win the competition with its liquid-fueled booster, currently codenamed Pyrios after one of the fiery horses that drew Apollo's chariot across the sky.

This morning, Dynetics issued a press release saying that it continues to make steady progress on the Pyrios booster in general and on the F-1B specifically. Most importantly, the F-1B powerpack assembly (the combined gas generator and turbopump assembly that supplies propellent to the rocket) and the main combustion chamber have both passed their preliminary design reviews—a critical step on the road to delivering the physical engine. It indicates that the designs are safe, that they meet the requirements set forth, and that work can continue beyond prototyping.

The prototype components were constructed not with welding and casting, but rather with selective laser melting—a 3D printing technique that uses hot lasers to fuse metal powder into complex shapes. Dynetics and Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne hope to lean heavily on advanced manufacturing techniques like this in order to massively reduce the part count—and hence cost—of the F-1B engine compared to its F-1 predecessor. Current estimates call for a reduction in the combustion chamber from more than 5,000 parts in the F-1 to fewer than 100 parts in the F-1B.

Enlarge/ The chart Dynetics had on hand at the gas generator test, showing major differences between the F-1 and the proposed F-1B.

Additionally, the Dynetics crew has moved forward with fabrication of the large cryogenic tanks necessary to hold the Pyrios rocket's liquid oxygen. The tankage is being manufactured in Huntsville using an enormous friction stir welding rig; the focus is on producing a lightweight but strong structure that functions to specification yet is extremely inexpensive to manufacture.

Though the hot-fire gas generator tests we attended earlier this year have concluded, there's more rocket firing on the horizon. The NASA SLS propulsion team at Marshall Space Flight Center hopes to test an original F-1 powerpack at F-1B levels in the near term, which in turn will clear the way for Dynetics and Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne to manufacture and test an F-1B powerpack at similar levels by 2015. Ars plans to be on-hand for as much of this testing as possible, so stay tuned.

Lee Hutchinson
Lee is the Senior Technology Editor at Ars and oversees gadget, automotive, IT, and culture content. He also knows stuff about enterprise storage, security, and manned space flight. Lee is based in Houston, TX. Emaillee.hutchinson@arstechnica.com//Twitter@Lee_Ars

It's amazing how much my house shook when they fired those generators off. I'm truly terrified at what's going to happen when they light off the entire power pack.

They'll actually be doing all powerpack testing at Stennis, because the powerpack test would be too disruptive to Huntsville.

Ah, okay. The article seemed to imply to me that they'd be doing that in Huntsville. So /relief, yet /disappointment at the same time. Though I could see them not wanting to break the windows on those shiny new office buildings they're putting up at the arsenal either.

Go to the Air and Space Museum in DC. You can walk right up to an F1 and basically stick your head in it. It awes me every single time I go. Not exactly the same as seeing a fully assembled Saturn V...but its as close as I might get in my life time.

I have seen an entire Apollo stack, disassembled into three Saturn V stages and CM/SM and LEM, at the KSC Saturn V center. It is truly an awe inspiring sight. Anyone planning on visiting Florida I strongly recommend swinging by the KSC visitor center and take a bus tour to the Saturn V center. Incredible.

I'm surprised to see so many Huntsville residents on here. Howdy, neighbors!

I don't know if it would really be too disruptive for Huntsville... we're kinda used to random booms and the whole house shaking. And if my house hasn't slid down the hill by now, I guess it's not gonna.

And more struts. Or Bad Things Happen when you start the gravity turn at 10,000m

Bah, just start your gravity turn later. You've got more boosters, you can do that. If you can't? I suggest more boosters.

Was waiting for the KSP references...

That game has done more for space flight understanding than anything else in recent history I can think of. It also tends to indicate that most nerds think like the Russians (see the N1).

"It didn't make orbit. So we added more engines. Turns out, that didn't get off the pad with the fuel weight. So we put more engines on it. And strapped a few solid rocket boosters on for good measure. That got off the pad, promptly flipped over, tore itsself apart, and blew up. So we added struts. And more engines (RCS engines). And some fins. That worked, but didn't make orbit very well. So we added more engines. That made orbit... at least half the time. But tore itsself apart if you throttled up at altitude. So we added another stage or two, cobbled together by struts. And that... well, that didn't make it off the pad before it blew up. But we're making progress!"

And more struts. Or Bad Things Happen when you start the gravity turn at 10,000m

Bah, just start your gravity turn later. You've got more boosters, you can do that. If you can't? I suggest more boosters.

But then the apoapsis is too high! Screws up my trans-insert-destination injection burn. And wastes fuel from the upper stage I will use to perform said burn.

Granted, more boosters is always better when the rocket is massive because the ship needs to be large enough to go somewhere without burning its fuel to leave Kerbin. I've built a Saturn V thing. Five mainsails and five double high orange tanks in the first stage.

Oh a useful tip: mailsails overheat at full throttle only when attached to the orange tank. Place the gray Rokomax tank at the bottom of an orange tank and attach the mainsail to the gray tank and you can run it at 100% throttle.

when the russians needed a pump with 1000 lpm capability, they made one that did 5000 lpm and used it. When they wanted to put together two sections of rocket, they got a guy with a welder and had him make extra thick welds. When they needed 3 rocket motors to do the job, they used 6.

the US uses stir welders and microscopically perfect rocket skins and we pay through the nose.

"The russians used a pencil" and, well, they still have rockets - that the US has to hitch a ride on to get anywhere.

That "Russians used a pencil" thing is old. We both used grease pencils, until a US company independent of NASA and of their own initiative developed a gas pressurized ball point pen and sold it to the US AND the Soviets/Russians, at the low, low price of about $3.50 per pen.

when the russians needed a pump with 1000 lpm capability, they made one that did 5000 lpm and used it. When they wanted to put together two sections of rocket, they got a guy with a welder and had him make extra thick welds. When they needed 3 rocket motors to do the job, they used 6.

the US uses stir welders and microscopically perfect rocket skins and we pay through the nose.

"The russians used a pencil" and, well, they still have rockets - that the US has to hitch a ride on to get anywhere.

It's amazing how much my house shook when they fired those generators off. I'm truly terrified at what's going to happen when they light off the entire power pack.

They'll actually be doing all powerpack testing at Stennis, because the powerpack test would be too disruptive to Huntsville.

Ah, okay. The article seemed to imply to me that they'd be doing that in Huntsville. So /relief, yet /disappointment at the same time. Though I could see them not wanting to break the windows on those shiny new office buildings they're putting up at the arsenal either.

when the russians needed a pump with 1000 lpm capability, they made one that did 5000 lpm and used it. When they wanted to put together two sections of rocket, they got a guy with a welder and had him make extra thick welds. When they needed 3 rocket motors to do the job, they used 6.

the US uses stir welders and microscopically perfect rocket skins and we pay through the nose.

"The russians used a pencil" and, well, they still have rockets - that the US has to hitch a ride on to get anywhere.

I guess that's why they're such an economic powerhouse in the new century.

Go to the Air and Space Museum in DC. You can walk right up to an F1 and basically stick your head in it. It awes me every single time I go. Not exactly the same as seeing a fully assembled Saturn V...but its as close as I might get in my life time.

you can go to huntsville to see a full one. I remember when i was 10 at spacecamp there back in 96. it was an awesome time, just before the space station was suposed to start being built but my favorite things were the used space capsules and the saturn V

Go to the Air and Space Museum in DC. You can walk right up to an F1 and basically stick your head in it. It awes me every single time I go. Not exactly the same as seeing a fully assembled Saturn V...but its as close as I might get in my life time.

you can go to huntsville to see a full one. I remember when i was 10 at spacecamp there back in 96. it was an awesome time, just before the space station was suposed to start being built but my favorite things were the used space capsules and the saturn V

Were you ganjadude back then or did the ganja come sometime after space camp?